


Fortune in Misfortune

by kagapop



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Blood and Violence, Implied Sexual Content, Mild horror elements I'm honestly not sure how to tag whatever this is, Minor Lavi/Lenalee Lee, Multi, Past Kanda Yuu/Alma Karma - Freeform, They are all adults in this but that doesn't mean they know what they're doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:46:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25739026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kagapop/pseuds/kagapop
Summary: In a quaint little alley resides a quaint little bookshop, where the staff is home to humans and dragons alike. Some say that visiting this shop after dark can cure you of all your bad luck.Allen Walker, dragon blood in his veins, doesn't know if "bad luck" exists in the way that humans think...but if it does, it would explain how he got stuck working with Kanda again.
Relationships: Kanda Yuu/Allen Walker
Comments: 23
Kudos: 45





	Fortune in Misfortune

**Author's Note:**

> Dunno how it took me over a decade of being in DGM hell to finally start a fic, but here we are.

Rainy days have always made Allen sleepy, but today has left him feeling even groggier than usual.

There are a number of factors in play outside of the gloomy weather this time. First, he’s hardly slept, thanks to the café next door undergoing a remodel that dragged on  _ far _ deeper into the night than any construction job should. Second, they’ve had no more than  _ three _ customers today, which may be a direct result of the aforementioned weather, but the lack of business just means it’s been harder to find tasks to keep himself awake.

They can’t place any new orders or really do  _ anything _ involving the computer, because neither of them know the password for it. Lavi only works at the bookstore part-time and rarely has to use the thing, and Allen  _ should _ know the password by now, but he doesn’t, and he can’t find where Lenalee supposedly wrote it down before she left the night prior.

The shelves are all perfectly organized because there haven’t been any customers to dishevel them. There aren’t any new books that need pricing. Allen’s already dusted…he doesn’t even know how many times since this afternoon.

Presently, his face is planted flat on the counter beside their outdated register. Occasionally Lavi will walk by and put a price sticker in his hair just to see if he’s still awake.

Allen finally raises his head after the eighth sticker. He plucks it out of his hair to see how much he’s worth this time. “I cost less than a gumball. Thanks.”

Lavi clicks the price gun a few times, letting loose stickers fall to the floor. He looks down at his feet where they’ve collected. “Hey, look, now we have something to clean.”

Allen sinks his head back down to the table. “Lenalee overestimated how much we know what we’re doing.”

“It could be worse, right? We could be totally  _ slammed _ with no idea what we’re doing.” Lavi laughs and goes to peel the stickers off the floor. “Haven’t you worked here long enough to know how everything works by now? Like, y’know, the computer login.”

“It’s always logged in already when I get here!” Allen groans. “I don’t work day shifts that often. I still only know the basics when it comes to the actual bookshop part of the job.”

Lavi rolls the loose stickers into a chunky ball between his fingers. “Right, right. You always seem to get stuck with the after-hours responsibilities now, huh?” He flicks the ball at Allen, who throws it right back. “I don’t know why that turned into a you-thing. It’s not like the rest of us haven’t been doing it since before you got here.” This time, he puts the sticker ball in the trash. “I guess that’s the responsibility that comes with  _ being _ a dragon instead of just having one follow you around, huh?”

Allen rolls his head to the side, enough to peek at Lavi from his left eye.

His body has patches of scales all over, but they’re more prominent in some places than others. The area surrounding his left eye is one of them, with a vaguely star-like shape on his forehead that bleeds down over his eyelid and down his cheek. Even though dragons are said to bring good luck, the scales usually draw gasps or sounds of disgust from onlookers. Maybe it has something to do with the coloration. He’s always thought that the mix of purple and red made it look like a gross bruise or a scar more than anything.

Or maybe it’s the fact that those same sickly-looking scales cover the entirety of his left arm.

At least Lavi and Lenalee don’t react all weird when he looks at them. Then again, Lavi’s probably gotten his fair share of weird looks, what with one eye always covered up by a patch and all.

“I don’t mind it,” Allen says. “It’s kinda the reason I came here.”

"Sure, but that goes for all of us." Lavi tilts his head upward and smiles. "Right, Stamp?"

A small gurgling sound comes from above before a tiny mass of red scales peeks over the edge of the nearest bookshelf. The tiny dragon's face is mostly flat with a single horn poking out from his head, and Allen has often wondered if he was born like that, or if he just flew into one too many walls as an infant.

Stamp huffs a tiny flame out from his nostrils.

"Hey, not near the merchandise, asshole!” Lavi reprimands.

Even as Stamp spreads his wings and lands himself on Lavi’s shoulder, the scolding continues. It’s a regular occurrence at this point. Allen often hears Lavi lecturing his dragon, but Stamp clearly isn’t threatened. He’s not even sure if Lavi is scolding Stamp for real. It could just be an act so that  _ he’s _ less likely to get in trouble if Stamp  _ does _ ever manage to burn down a bookshelf or two.

He hasn’t so far. The only casualties Allen has witnessed in his time here have been in the form of his own junk mail, which he’s intentionally held in front of Stamp’s face for that very purpose.

At some point Allen tunes out Lavi’s rambling. He hears him say something about burn holes in his socks, but doesn’t catch much else. To be fair, Stamp looks like he’s paying about as much attention as Allen is.

He rests his chin on the counter so he can stare at the clock hanging over the door. They’ll be closing up for the night very soon. He knows that staring won’t make the hands move any faster, but one can dream.

“We’ll probably be busy once we close.”

“Huh?” Allen sits up straight. He’s not sure how long ago Lavi ended his rant by this point.

Lavi leans on a shelf and points a thumb at the door. The rain outside hasn’t let up any. “Dreary nights like these are always the busiest for the real job, y’know?”

Allen watches the droplets hit and slide down the glass one after another. He’s never really considered it, but as usual, Lavi’s observation isn’t  _ wrong. _

“It’s easier to wallow in your own misfortune when the world itself is going out of its way to make things gloomy.” Lavi makes his way to the door and flips the sign from  _ “Open” _ to  _ “Closed.” _ It’s five minutes early, but Allen doesn’t say anything. It’s not like a customer’s going to come rushing in for books at the last minute on a night like this.

Stamp has already left Lavi’s shoulder in favor of his previous spot atop the shelves. As Lavi dims the shop’s lights, the dragon scurries across the shelftops, huffing small embers out his flattened nose. This time however, it’s with purpose.

Along every shelf in their tiny shop sits glass candle holders like frozen teardrops. Stamp huffs into each one, lighting them and casting a growing glow in the room.

Allen gets to his feet with a yawn. His long, scaly tail drags off from the chair and onto the ground as he moves around the counter into the center of the store.

Lavi draws the blinds shut, casting the view of the dreary weather away for the time being. “You want me to stick around in case it  _ does _ get crazy?”

“I’m good. I’ll call you if I need help.” Allen yawns yet again as he watches Stamp make his rounds. He smiles as the number of lit candles grows. “This is so much more convenient than lighting them by hand. Lenalee’s dragon and I can’t breathe fire.”

“That’s ‘cause you guys aren’t cool.”

“Ah.” Allen rolls his eyes, but not without a genuine laugh. “That’s what it is. So you and Lenalee aren’t cool because you can’t breathe fire too, right?”

“Me and Lenalee aren’t  _ dragons. _ We’re both super cool humans.”

“I’ll let her know you said her dragon isn’t cool.”

Lavi frowns. “Don’t do this, man.”

Allen laughs again, only stopping when Stamp hops down from a shelf onto his head. He takes off again just as abruptly and glides into Lavi’s hands.

No sooner does a buzzer sound at the door. Lavi and Allen both turn to the closed blinds and wait, counting the seconds until it sounds again.

Three buzzes, each held and spaced apart for three seconds each. Lavi flashes Allen a grin.

“You’re up.”

“Looks like it.” Allen’s smile is soft when he starts for the door.

Lavi is already heading the other way, toward the stairs in the back that lead to their living quarters on the next floor. “Gimme a shout if you need me.”

Allen waves him off. He waits before he opens the door.

The sound of rain on cobblestone is louder now as he stares out into the quaint little alley their shop resides in. A few lamps reflect in the puddles, and now standing a considerable distance from the door is a figure with almost comically-large glasses and a head of curly brown hair pulled back into a messy bun. He leans back with his jaw dropped in awe as he stares at something above Allen. It’s most likely the store’s sign. Lenalee’s brother had apparently insisted on going all out with it when they first opened the place. A large, mechanical dragon sits atop the words  _ “Dragon’s Hoard,” _ its claws resting over the first D while its tail curls beneath the last. Allen’s been told that it used to move, but it was already out of commision by the time he started working here, and Lenalee refuses to let Komui tinker with the thing again.

“I wasn’t even paying attention when I rang the bell, but it really is more impressive in person! Last time I was here, it had a tarp over it from the repainting. Can you believe I haven’t even seen the thing with all the times I’ve been here?” He adjusts his glasses, which are just as soaking wet as the rest of him. “I really gotta stop by during the day for a better look—”

“Johnny.”

The guy looks down from the sign to meet Allen’s gaze. He beams. “Oh, Allen! I wasn’t sure who was working today!”

Allen steps back and holds the door open. “Maybe you should come inside,” he offers with a laugh.

Johnny Gill does just that, but he doesn't venture beyond the doormat. Maybe the fact that he's drenched has finally registered.

"I'll go get a towel," Allen says.

"No, no! It's fine! I can stand here!" Johnny puts his arms at his sides and grins. 

Allen looks him up and down. "But…why? What are you even doing here? I mean, I don't mind it, but we're closed, so…"

Johnny stares. "But you answered when I rang the buzzer, so you're not really closed, right?"

Allen opens his mouth to respond, then closes it. Of course that's why he's here. The three distinct buzzes is only something people do when they want the shop's after-hours services.

Allen just wasn't prepared to have to help a familiar face with such a problem tonight.

"Wait here," he says after some pause. Despite Johnny's insistence otherwise, Allen still retrieves a few towels. He lays one out on the couch in the corner lounge area and gives another to Johnny to keep around himself. If he's suffering enough to have to come here, then he at least deserves to be warm and semi-dry.

Johnny wraps himself in the towel and rubs his arms. "The atmosphere is so spooky in here. You always do this after hours?" 

"The candles help with the process."

"Magic or something?"

Allen laughs. "Do you even believe in magic, Johnny?"

Johnny sways from side to side as he considers it. "Well, no. I never really believed in bad luck either, but when I told Komui what's been going on, he said I should try stopping by."

Allen drops himself into the seat across from Johnny. He pulls his tail into his lap so as not to sit on it. "Komui did?" Interesting. That means he had to have suspected something serious.

And yet when Allen looks at Johnny, he doesn't  _ see _ anything unusual.

“Yeah! He said that the stuff going on seemed too out of nowhere to be a coincidence.”

“And by  _ stuff, _ you mean…?”

Johnny looks down at his feet. “Well, y’know, the  _ ‘bad luck’ _ I guess. It started with small stuff at first, like I’d be doing really bad in a video game that I was usually good at.” He pulls his glasses off to wipe away the remaining water droplets. “But then worse things started happening. Someone stole my wallet. Part of my kitchen caught fire. I’d go out on a tech repair job and somehow wind up leaving things worse than I found them.” He squints across the small space at Allen. “I just figured I was having a few bad days, y’know? I’m not  _ that _ clumsy, but I figured that sort of stuff just happens to people sometimes.” He props his glasses back on his face. “But then I just started getting really depressed over little, stupid things that usually wouldn’t bother me. And if I wasn’t depressed I was just…angry.”

“How do you feel now?”

Johnny takes a moment to respond. “Nervous?” he says with an uneasy laugh. “Kinda on edge? I didn’t feel that way before I came in. Can we put out some of the candles?”

Allen rests his chin on his scaly hand. “Do they bother you?”

“I’m...not sure.” Johnny admits.

“Did something else happen before Komui told you to come here?”

“Uh…” Johnny bites his lip. “...There was an incident.”

Allen waits.

Johnny swallows. “I said some repair jobs weren’t going well. I was fixing a guy’s T.V. one day—one of those wall-mounted ones—and the thing just…fell right off the wall when I was done.”

Allen frowns. So far, all of Johnny’s concerns could be chalked up to mere coincidences. They could be bad luck in the fake, superstitious sense.

Still, he waits to hear the rest out. Johnny seems to be struggling with finding all the words.

“I definitely mounted it right when I was done. I had to have. But then it fell, and it...Allen, it fell  _ on _ him.” He chokes on those last few words. “H-He came out of it fine. I paid for the T.V. after that. But Allen, for a moment I thought I’d  _ killed _ someone.”

“You said it fell,” Allen says, his voice soft, “You didn’t do anything on purpose, Johnny.”

“But I don’t  _ know _ that!” Johnny runs his hands over his hair. “I started second guessing myself. I didn’t have any reason to! I wouldn’t want to! I wouldn’t  _ do _ that! But it just…it kept happening. One job after another. No one’s  _ actually _ died, but these bad things keep happening, and every time is  _ so _ close. I’m afraid to even touch my tools or go near a power outlet most of the time. Hell, what if I touch a keyboard and the computer just  _ explodes _ on someone?!”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen—”

“Of course you don’t! I wouldn’t! Computers don’t explode for no reason, there’s nothing scientific about that! But there’s nothing scientific about lizards bringing good luck either, and Komui still sent me here!”

Allen tries really hard not to be offended by  _ “lizards.” _

“I’m just...I’m scared. I don’t wanna hurt someone.” Johnny sinks into the couch a little. Allen definitely hears him sniffle, and it’s probably unrelated to whatever cold he might be catching from the rain. “I don’t know if good and bad luck are real…”

Something drips from the sleeve of Johnny’s jacket. Allen freezes up when he notices that it’s too dark to be rain water.

“...but I know...I mean…I don’t…”

The dripping increases, and something more solid coils out from beneath the sleeve.

_ So it was hiding. _

Allen slowly gets back on his feet as the shadowy tendril reaches out from Johnny’s jacket. 

“...I don’t want to be a bad person.”

Allen reaches his left arm outward, but stops just short of actually making contact with Johnny’s shoulder. “If you want me to help you, Johnny, I need you to tell me.” He smiles, gentle and reassuring. “I need you to ask me to take your misfortune away.”

Johnny looks up, tears overflowing in a way that feels like a physical attack on Allen’s heart.

“Please. Help me.”

The tendril snaps like a whip. Johnny remains oblivious.

“Then I just need you to do one more thing,” Allen says. Johnny nods. “Close your eyes.”

“O-Okay?” Johnny does as he’s asked.

“Now promise me, no matter what you hear, you won’t open them until I say so.”

Johnny frowns. “You’re kinda freaking me out…”

“That’s kinda what I’m trying to prevent.” Allen laughs. “Think you can do it?”

Johnny nods.

“That’s all I’m gonna need from you.” With that, Allen rests his hand on Johnny’s shoulder.

What follows is a violent  _ screech. _ The tendril writhes itself loose, and Allen soon finds that it’s less of a tendril and more of an awkward snake.

It falls to the floor and specks of light flicker in its body on the impact. The thing has no eyes—they never do. Just like every other one, its black body casts no shadows. Looking at it is like looking into the night sky—an endless, starry void contained into one small body.

This one is even smaller than the last, which comes as a relief. It’s not that Johnny’s reaction would be any different if he opened his eyes. Human eyes can’t see these things— _ the Others, _ as they’ve come to know them—but human eyes  _ can _ see Allen, and he doesn’t exactly want those eyes to see him snatching up and eating something invisible.

As far as anyone knows, when you ask someone at Dragon’s Hoard to take away your “bad luck,” it just means something as simple as being in a dragon’s presence and walking away with a few less worries. Allen and his comrades would rather not get the whole city worked up over the reality that is the existence of trouble-making monsters that they can’t even see.

Allen takes a step forward and the Other squirms back behind Johnny's feet, beneath the seat. It's a small one, so this shouldn't take long. All Allen has to do is grab it and bite the thing's head off and Johnny will be cured of his near-murder streak.

That is, so long as Johnny  _ really _ wants Allen's help. It isn't uncommon for someone to cling to their misfortune. Some would rather latch onto the superstition as a scapegoat for their own personal shortcomings.

Thankfully Johnny isn't superstitious to begin with, so Allen isn't so worried this time. Had it been anyone else, he would have gone a little deeper with his questioning just to be sure their heart was really in it. Separating one of these parasites from their host could be detrimental otherwise.

Allen bends to look at the thing under the sofa. All he can make out from here are the specks of starlight in its body, flickering in a silent threat.

_ "Don't be so difficult," _ Allen mouths.

Another screech, and the Other snakes between Johnny's feet and past Allen.

Allen reaches back with his left hand. He catches the Other by the tip of its tail, his black claws sinking into the inky void. He's grateful that Johnny can't hear the sound it makes in retaliation.

He drags it closer by his claws across the floor, leaving a trail of black in its path. He grabs its front end with his other hand and straightens.

He opens his mouth. The thing shrieks again as soon as Allen's sharp teeth are exposed.

And then something sharp cuts through the flesh of Allen's right hand.

He loses his grip as something grows out from the Other's body. It looks like wings, and as they unfold they drag webs and strands of black from the Other that snap and tear upon spreading.

The wings' sharp edges bat at Allen's arms, slicing skin and scales on contact.

He winces as the Other frees itself from his hold. It clumsily soars over his head and toward the back of the shop.

Allen curses and follows. Even with a new pair of wings, the Other still isn’t immune to the candles all over the shop. Allen notices how it avoids all of the shelves that bear them. They don't give it a whole lot of room for an escape.

At least, that’s what he thinks until the creature flies past the registers and through the curtain that leads to the stairway.

The candle above the stairway entrance remains unlit.

_ “Stamp,” _ Allen whispers the dragon’s name like it’s foul language.

“Allen? I don’t feel too good…”

Allen comes to a halt and looks over at Johnny, who is still sitting where Allen left him, his eyes shut tight.

“I’ll get something to help with that!” Allen says, not  _ completely _ lying as he half-skips backwards toward the curtain. “Just stay like that, okay?”

Johnny nods, and Allen spins around to pursue the Other that’s now loose in their living quarters.

He shoves the curtain aside and bolts up the stairs, growing less and less concerned with how much noise he makes the further he gets from Johnny.

He sees a streak of black zipping through the hall ahead just as he sees Lavi leaving the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

Allen stretches his arms out to his sides as he runs and yells,  _ "Lavi, do this!" _

Lavi is confused at first, but he must register that  _ something _ weird is up, because he does as Allen says anyway. He swings his arms outward and the Other flies straight into his wrist and tumbles to the floor.

"Whafs happening?" Lavi says around his toothbrush.

Allen doesn't elaborate and instead high fives Lavi's outstretched hand when he runs by.

The Other flaps its wings frantically where it lies on its back, but Allen stomps a foot down on its belly to prevent its escape.

Lavi spins around and pulls his toothbrush out, flinging foamy paste onto the rug. "Wait, is that—"

"It is."

"How did it get up here?!"

"Stamp missed a candle."

Lavi turns to his bedroom door. "You lazy little shit!"

Allen jabs a claw through the creature's head. "You walked right under the doorway and didn't even notice." The Other shrieks and bats at Allen with its tail and wings. "You're supposed to be the observant one."

"I'm  _ so _ sorry I didn't spot check my dragon's candle-lighting skills," Lavi says with a dramatic wave of his hands.

Allen frowns as the Other continues to flail about. He drives his claw deeper until black spurts out from the body, yet it continues to move.

_ "Am I missing something?" _ he mutters.

Lavi peeks over his shoulder. He squints, unable to see whatever Allen is stabbing. “What is it?”

“I think…” Allen twists his finger until the claw breaks through the bottom of its head. He lifts his hand and scrutinizes the thing, still writhing when it shouldn’t be moving at all. “...there’s more than one body.”

“Excuse me?”

“This one doesn’t have a core. It’s still moving even though I’ve pierced it.” He recalls the way the thing grew a pair of wings so quickly before. Could the creature in front of him be another growth itself? Did it just  _ separate _ from the main body when it fell out of Johnny’s sleeve?

“Fucking…” Lavi turns to swing his bedroom door open. He haphazardly discards the toothbrush somewhere in the room, then whistles for his dragon, and Stamp comes flying out from the room and onto his shoulder. He holds a finger out to Stamp, who butts it with his head.“We’re making this a three-man job tonight, buddy.”

“This one was hiding in Johnny’s jacket, so I didn’t even notice it. The other one must be just as small if I couldn’t see it.”

“Thanks for the tip!” Lavi salutes him as he starts back toward the stairs, only to stop himself a few steps later. “Wait, Johnny?  _ Computer guy, _ Johnny?”

“That’s the one.” Allen holds the squirmy Other to his mouth and sinks his teeth in. He’s unceremonious in the way he rips a large chunk out of it and swallows. He may not want his customers to see his weird, invisible eating habits, but he gave up on trying to be discreet about it around Lavi and Lenalee a long time ago.

Even if a dragon kills an Other, there’s still a chance of their core reforming if left alone. Devouring them ensures that such a thing doesn’t happen. It ensures that the human being tormented by them doesn’t have to revisit their nightmares all over again.

“Augh,” Lavi groans, “I hate when nice people like him get stuck with these things.”

Lavi hurries down the stairs with Stamp, and Allen follows after. He scarfs down the rest of the Other and wipes the black from his mouth.

“Don’t scare him off!” Allen warns in a half-whisper. “I  _ like _ it when Johnny visits!”

“I know how to do my  _ job, _ Allen!” Lavi half-whispers back.

By the time they make it down the stairs, Allen feels something… _ off. _ Specifically where his stomach is concerned.

Maybe he shouldn’t have eaten that thing until  _ after _ they found and destroyed its core.

He catches himself on the railing on the last step when a wave of nausea washes over him. He bends over and brings a hand up to cover his mouth, but nothing actually comes out. Still, he feels so sick already, even though he’d only just swallowed the thing.

Lavi wanders out into the shop. Stamp is on high alert on his shoulder, and Johnny is still sitting in the center of the couch, his hands on his knees and his eyes closed tighter than before.

“H-Hey, Allen? Are you back yet?” Johnny asks.

Allen wonders how many times he’s tried calling him since he went upstairs. “I am!” Allen winces. This isn’t regular nausea. “You feeling alright?” he asks, finding it difficult to mask his own discomfort.

“My head feels...weird…”

_ Shit. _

“Does it hurt?” Allen asks.

“Y-Yeah.”

“Keep your eyes closed, Johnny. I swear it’s gonna be over soon.” Allen tries for a reassuring sort of laugh, but finds himself sinking against the railing. His stomach has never felt like this before. It’s a different kind of rumbling than feeling hungry or sick. More like…

He chokes into his hand. Black droplets come out, like tiny windows into a starry universe dotting his hand.

It’s moving.

It’s moving  _ inside _ of him.

He looks up from his hand and immediately begins to scan the shop. Whatever they’re looking for can’t be that big. The problem is that he doesn’t know  _ how many _ things they’re looking for.

He glances over the shelves. It doesn’t look like Stamp missed any candles aside from the one. He knows he  _ can _ count on the tiny dragon for one other thing, though.

Purebloods like Stamp have a far keener sense of smell than a dragonling like Allen. Allen can see the Others, but he can rarely sniff them out. Presently, Stamp’s flat nose is pointed right in Johnny’s direction.

“It’s still with him?” Allen murmurs before he coughs up more black. He swallows the feeling down, even though he just feels more sick in doing so. He pulls himself back to his feet and slowly makes his way toward the register, keeping his eyes on Lavi all the while.

The look in Lavi’s eye is pure concentration. It’s the look of a human drawing from the bond of their dragon partner.

Lavi may not be able to see the Others, nor can he register his dragon’s grunts and snorts as anything but sounds, but he  _ can _ understand Stamp in other ways.

Allen’s knowledge of their bond is purely from an outsider’s perspective. As something in between human and dragon, he’ll never fully be able to understand what sort of relationship two who have bonded in such a powerful way have. It’s a kind of mental link from what he can tell. Telepathy maybe, but not in the way of words. It’s a mutual understanding that allows them to act alongside one another without outward communication.

Admittedly, it sometimes leaves Allen feeling a little out of the loop.

He rummages beneath the counter for a spare candle. He lights it, swallows again, and carefully makes his way to the sofa where Johnny sits. If his own presence wasn’t enough to draw the Other away from Johnny, then  _ this _ certainly will be.

“I need you to do something else for me,” he says, struggling to even speak with this thing threatening to crawl back out his body. Still, he manages to sound... _ relatively _ calm.

Johnny hesitates, but nods.

“Hold out your hands.”

Johnny does so.

Allen sets the glass holder in his palms. He brings his own hands around Johnny’s to cup the glass along with him. “Be careful. There’s a flame inside. Just don’t let go, okay?”

Johnny tenses. “O-Okay?”

Allen smiles, even though he knows Johnny can’t see him. He hopes he can at least hear it in his voice. “Everything’s about to get better,” he says. He gives Johnny’s hands a small squeeze before pulling back. As he does, something screeches from somewhere on Johnny’s body at the same time that something jerks in Allen’s stomach. He stumbles back and covers his mouth with both hands this time. A new pair of wings shows itself behind Johnny.

They’re longer than the last, as is the snake-like body that follows when they bat away from where Johnny and the candle sit.

Webby, clawed hands unfold from the Other as it flies back against a window. It latches onto the blinds and cries out, and Allen falls to his knees when he feels something crawl up his throat.

“Allen?” Johnny squeaks.

Allen can’t respond. He’s too busy trying not to let the pieces of the Other inside of him loose.

Lavi looks from Allen to the Other at the window, but Allen knows he can't actually  _ see _ it. He extends a hand, his finger aimed at the creature.

“I’m gonna help Allen, Johnny,” he says, making his presence known.

_ “Lavi?” _

“You’ve got some annoying baggage clinging to ya right now, right? Just do what Allen told ya earlier. I’m gonna get rid of it for ya.”

Johnny begins to tremble. “Am I so bad that this turned into a two person job?!”

“You’re not bad, man.” Lavi smiles. “Just got a little bad luck.” He tilts his head toward Stamp. "Your turn, buddy."

Stamp's spiky back scales glow red as he wiggles his rear, readying to pounce. He leaps from Lavi's shoulder and spreads his wings. The Other jumps from the window, toward a bookshelf, only to pull away in a panic when it comes too close to the candles.

Stamp latches onto it, claws plunging into the void. They both tumble to the floor, and with the Other being twice Stamp's size, the tiny dragon has trouble keeping his hold. He sinks his teeth into the black, mouth igniting and burning where it bites.

As the two roll onto the wood floor, Lavi slips a black and red cord out from his pocket. At the end of it hangs a fang about the length of his middle finger. It's tinted with black from overuse, but to Lavi and the other humans, it probably still looks clean.

The Other shrieks and kicks Stamp off. The dragon gurgles out a cry, and Lavi responds by lunging for the floor with the fang. It pierces straight through the head and the thing squirming in Allen's throat  _ finally _ goes still.

Allen, on his hands and knees with a tail of black half-hanging out his mouth, coughs the now-dead thing out onto the floor.

When he looks up, Johnny is absolutely shaking in his seat.

Allen swallows back whatever hadn't crawled out. "How’re you hanging in there, Johnny?" he asks, voice a little raspy.

"F-Fine? Did someone just  _ fall?" _

"I'm good," Lavi says when he stands and pockets the fang. Stamp is already back on the fallen Other, taking little bites out of its inky body with utter delight.

Allen staggers to his feet. He steps over the grossness he coughed up and approaches Johnny. Gently, he reaches for the candle. Warmth and comfort fill his features when he smiles. "Open your eyes, Johnny."

He hesitates, but soon obliges. His eyes are watery when he meets Allen's gaze.

"You feel alright?" Allen asks.

Johnny inhales, exhales, then swallows. "I...My head feels light…"

"Dizzy?"

"No! It's...good. Better than before." He looks around, maybe searching for the cause of all the commotion he heard. "What did you guys  _ do?" _

"You just got your ass blessed by  _ two _ dragons, Johnny Boy." Lavi grins. "That's a lot of luck, y'know."

"The luck thing really is real…? Or is the ritual just a placebo...and I'm buying into it…?"

The question is probably meant more for himself than either of them, Allen realizes as Johnny begins to mumble theories to himself. Still, Allen laughs and steps back. He blows the candle out. "Either way, if it helps, it helps, don't you think?"

Johnny stares down at his feet and thinks very hard on this for a moment. When he looks up again, his eyes are glossier than ever. Even so, he's smiling.

"Thank you!" He jumps from the chair and throws his arms around Allen. His clothes are still soaked, and Allen begins to think he should have offered him a change of clothes instead of just the towel.

Regardless, he embraces him back with a soft chuckle. "I'm glad you feel better."

Johnny doesn't let go of him, even as he shouts out to Lavi over his shoulder, "You too! Thank you! How much do I owe you guys?"

Lavi holds out an arm and Stamp hops up from the floor to perch there. "Your bad luck is food to a dragon. That’s all the payment we need.”

Johnny frowns. “But—”

“If you want to give us money that badly, you can come back in the morning and buy some books.” Allen pulls back from the hug with a laugh.

Johnny looks from Allen to Lavi, then back. He nods. “How about the next time you guys have a computer problem, it’ll be on the house?”

Lavi snickers. “If Allen can even figure out the computer password.”

Allen would smack him with his tail if he were in range.

Johnny lowers his head and fixes Allen with a very serious stare. “Do you need me to hack it?”

Allen’s eyes go wide at the suggestion. “N-No, Lenalee should be back by morning, it’s fine!”

As Stamp crawls up to nest in Lavi’s hair, Lavi shoves his hands in his pockets and leans toward Johnny and Allen. “Johnny,  _ hacking? _ Seriously?” He looks thrilled. “What else can you do?”

Johnny adjusts his glasses, but Allen cuts him off before he can start into one of his excited nerd rants. “No one’s hacking anything!”

“Killjoy,” Lavi says.

Johnny pulls the towel off his shoulders. “Well, the offer’s still there. Just give me a call if you need anything! And, uh, Allen?” He awkwardly hands the towel back. “Sorry for calling you guys unscientific lizards.”

Allen laughs. “I’ve been called worse.” He hangs the towel over his arm. “There’s an umbrella stand by the front door. Take one. You can bring it back when it’s not pouring out.”

Johnny blurts out a “Thank you!” and does just that, offering them one last wave before he heads out into the ongoing downpour.

Allen and Lavi wait in silence until Lavi finally breaks it with a drawn-out whistle.

“Told ya shit gets whacky in here when the weather sucks.”

“I figured we’d have multiple customers with tiny problems, not one giant one.” Allen sighs and drapes the towel over a chair.

“How big was it?” Lavi asks. He watches as Stamp hops back down to the floor to finish his meal. “It flung Stamp off pretty easily.”

“Not huge, but bigger than average.” Allen ventures to the door to lock up for the night. “Does it ever get weird? Attacking something you can’t see or feel?”

“Kinda. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I can just sorta…tell where things are when Stamp gets involved.” Lavi shrugs. “Got no clue about the size or shape or any of that though.”

“It was kinda snake-ish.” Allen says. He looks at the pile he coughed up on the floor and scrunches his nose. “I might’ve lost my appetite.”

“That’s impossible for you.”

“...Shut up.”

Lavi flops himself over the backside of the couch, onto the cushions. “Why’d you even try to eat it before we destroyed its core?”

“I didn’t think it could still move  _ inside _ me.” Allen looks around for the mop. Even if the humans can’t see the mess on the floor,  _ he _ still can.

“I feel you. I swallowed my toothpaste when I ran down here.”

Allen snorts. “Yeah, basically the same thing.” He gets to cleaning his own mess first, but waits for Stamp to eat his fill of the Other’s corpse before he cleans that up as well. Stamp, his belly now full, clumsily flies over to curl up on Lavi’s chest.

Stamp’s back scales have stopped glowing by now as he comfortably nuzzles Lavi’s chin. Lavi strokes along the dragon’s back with a finger, eliciting something like a purr from the little guy.

“So, wanna take bets on who Lenalee is bringing back?” Lavi asks.

Allen mops away at the black at the floor a few times with a hum. “Dunno. She didn’t say if it was a permanent new hire or not, did she?”

Lavi shrugs. He tilts his head back over the sofa arm. “She cleared out the old room, so they’ve gotta be staying for a while, right? Who’s that kid that showed up with a new dragon partner a while ago? You think it’s him?”

“Timothy?” Allen ponders that. “Nah. I don’t think Komui would want a kid working the place.”

“Maybe it’s Miranda.”

“Miranda and Marie opened their own place last month.”

“Shit, right.” Lavi relaxes his neck. “You think it’s even someone we know? It’s gotta be, right? It’s hard to even find anyone with a dragon bond these days.” He stops petting Stamp, only for him to snap at his finger in a demanding manner. Lavi laughs and starts again. “Maybe it’s another case like you.”

“Like what? Another dragonling?” Allen surveys his work and decides that he’s cleaned up as much as he can.

“Nah, I meant your old job.” Lavi twirls a free finger in the air. “Wandering around, searching for Others instead of waiting for people to come to you with them.”

Allen tosses the disposable cloth from the mop in the trash bin. “Maybe. I wish fewer people would work like that, honestly. I hated it.” He leans on the register counter once the mop is out of the way. “It takes too big a toll on the human’s psyche if they don’t come to us willingly.”

Lavi hums. “So, anyone else you can think of? Besides,  _ y’know.” _

Allen makes a disgusted sort of expression at the thought of  _ y’know. _ “Not really.”

A click sounds from the door, and both Allen and Lavi perk up at the noise. They exchange glances before the door creaks open and sets off the small bell that dangles above it.

Lavi sits up and cradles Stamp in his hand. His face lights up at the sight of the pink raincoat and umbrella that poke through the doorway. “Didn’t think you’d be back until morning!”

Lenalee Lee steps into the shop and sets down a single suitcase near the umbrella stand. “And I thought you two would have closed up and gone upstairs by now.”

“Work got weird,” Lavi says, too casually.

She looks from one of them to the other with concern.

“We handled it fine,” Allen assures her.

“An Other crawled out of Allen’s stomach. Horror movie style.”

“You couldn’t even  _ see _ it.”

“I could sure hear you pukin’ though.”

Lenalee gapes. “Are you  _ okay?” _

“I’m  _ fine!” _

“He couldn’t figure out the computer login,” Lavi adds.

“I told you I would tape it under the keyboard,” Lenalee says, and Allen doesn’t like her pitying tone.

Still, that  _ does _ sound familiar now that she mentions it. He lifts the keyboard and sees a blue sticky note with a bunch of codes jotted down. He sinks his chin into his hand. “...You sure did.”

Lavi is loud and unforgiving in his following laughter.

Lenalee sighs. Once her coat and umbrella are out of the way, she retrieves her suitcase and moves out of the doorway. “Well, you didn’t burn the place down, so I’ll give you two credit there.” She tucks a bit of dark hair behind her ear, and from between the locks crawls out a small, serpentine, black dragon. She sniffs the air, maybe picking up on the Other that had just been there. What looks almost like tiny butterfly wings feather out from the sides of her head beneath a pair of horns, and they fan open with curiosity. It’s too dim now, but in better lighting Waltz’s scales take on an iridescent quality.

“I’ll take that.” Lavi grins. “So? The new hire? Or did you come back empty handed?”

Lenalee bites her lip. “N-No, he’s here…”

Allen leans to the side, trying to snag a better view through the door. It’s then that another dragon comes zipping through the entrance straight toward him.

He backs away at first, and the dragon lands just in front of him on the counter. Her body is similar to Waltz’s in shape, but where Waltz’s scales mimic a butterfly’s features, this one’s look more like the petals of a flower. Her scales are deep purple, save for the petals that bloom in a soft pink all down her back. Two long, thin whiskers trail out from around her nose, hanging mystically in the air as she tilts her tiny head at him.

Allen stares at the dragon, wide-eyed. He doesn’t stare because her presence is new, but because he  _ knows _ her.

She hops up onto his shoulder and nuzzles the side of his face. Allen doesn’t have it in him to resist her. He caves and strokes beneath her chin with a finger.

Still, her being here doesn’t bode well with him.

“Lenalee?” he starts, a shaky laughter in his voice that one would only use when masking their rage. “You wanna tell me what Mugen is doing here?”

Lenalee does not answer, and instead looks away like she’s guilty of something.

Lavi grits his teeth and inhales through them, followed by a  _ “Yikes.” _

_ “Lenalee,” _ Allen repeats.

She doesn’t get to respond. She doesn’t have to, because the very thing Allen feared shows its face in the doorway before she can.

Yu Kanda doesn’t say a word when he steps inside. He never sets down his suitcase or closes his umbrella. He takes one look at Allen behind the register and immediately turns on his heel to leave.

Lenalee swears under her breath and chases after him. She snatches Kanda by his coat and drags him back through the door.

He whips around to face her. “You  _ told _ me he didn’t work here anymore!”

“That’s  _ not _ what I said!” Lenalee huffs. “...I just said he wasn’t staying in the same room anymore.” She averts her eyes. “His room is down the hall now.”

Kanda’s jaw hangs open as he stares at her, but she refuses to make eye contact after the admission.

_ “Why _ would you trick him into coming here?” Allen slams his hands down on the counter. “Let go of him, Lenalee. He can and  _ should _ leave if he wants to.”

Kanda practically  _ snarls _ when he turns his glare on Allen. Then his eyes flicker down to the dragon sitting on his shoulder. “Mugen, get away from that brat.”

Mugen instead curls up against Allen’s neck.

Kanda looks like he’s two seconds away from imploding, and Allen would find it funny if he weren’t so pissed himself.

“Tiedoll and my brother both suggested he work here for a while...” Lenalee tugs Kanda back a step further, then quickly slams the door shut with a  _ thud _ and a  _ ring _ so he can't escape. “...and since Lavi’s always coming and going with this second job, I figured we could use the help.”

“I’m open to help!” Allen says. “Literally  _ any other help!” _

Lenalee locks the door with a loud  _ click _ behind her. Kanda looks at her like she’s lost her damn mind.

“Kanda’s our help,” she says.

“Yeah, I’m sure his customer service skills are  _ fantastic.” _

“You’re not making this any easier—!  _ Lavi don’t you dare take another step.” _

Lavi freezes halfway to the stairs. “Why do  _ I _ have to stick around for this?!”

_ “Don’t leave me alone with them,” _ Lenalee says, sharp words hiding a threat.

Lavi takes a step away, not toward the door, but just to the side to distance himself from...everything. “If you can’t handle them around each other, why  _ did _ you bring him here?”

“See, Lavi’s on my side,” Allen says.

“Dude, I’m  _ not _ picking sides on this one. Neither of you will even tell anyone why you don’t get along anymore.”

_ “We never got along!” _ Allen and Kanda say in unison, only to glower at one another.

Lavi furrows his brow. “Say what you want, but you’re way worse now.”

“Definitely worse,” Lenalee whispers in agreement.

“This isn’t what I agreed to.” Every word out of Kanda’s mouth sounds venomous. “Mugen,  _ come. _ We’re  _ leaving.” _

Lenalee doesn’t back down from the door. “And what are you going to tell Tiedoll?”

Kanda stiffens up.

“Look...” Lenalee sighs. She leans back against the door, not quite defeated, but definitely tired. “...You two don’t have to get along. I’ll rotate the night shift schedule so you won’t even have to do dragon work together. Can you just...tolerate each other for a few hours while the shop’s open? Is that really such a big deal?”

Neither Allen nor Kanda respond, but they both have the look of an angry child who  _ wants _ to say  _ “Yes, it is.” _

“Give it a month,” Lenalee pleads. “Kanda, if you really can’t stand us that much after that, then I won’t stop you from leaving.”

Allen opens his mouth to retort, but Lenalee interrupts.

“Allen, you have no say in what he does.”

“What if  _ I _ want to leave?” he tries, but she just levels him with a raised brow. They both know he wouldn’t.

Lenalee waits a moment. “Kanda?” she asks, hopeful. 

“One month,” he mutters, “That’s  _ it.” _ He shoves his umbrella into her hands and starts for the stairs.  _ “Mugen,” _ he repeats, and this time the dragon finally follows him.

“Your room’s the last on the left!” Lavi calls after him once Kanda is out of sight.

The shop falls silent after that. Allen’s hands are still on the counter, and it’s not until Kanda’s gone that he realizes his left hand has dug claw marks into the wood.

Lenalee runs a hand over her face. “You two... _ have _ to work this out. Work  _ something _ out. Just find a way to be civil while the shop’s open, at least.”

“I can’t promise you anything.”

“Allen.”

He attempts to relax his hand. “I’ve  _ tried _ to talk to him, alright? He doesn’t want to.”

Lavi’s eye lingers on the stairs. “What  _ happened?” _

“It’s just gonna piss him off more if I tell you,” Allen mutters. “Something happened on our last job. It was before I even started working in the shop. Can we just...leave it at that?”

Lenalee doesn’t look satisfied with that answer, but she offers a slow nod regardless. “Can we help? At all?”

“Just don’t pester him about it,” Allen says. “Leave him alone, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Lavi crosses his arms. “Not buying  _ that.” _

Allen looks at him, incredulous.

“You two can’t last an hour in the same room without antagonizing each other,” Lavi says.

“I could if he didn’t always start it.”

“He doesn’t,” Lavi and Lenalee both say.

Allen’s lips form a thin line. There’s not much point in arguing it—he’s too tired anyway. He still hasn’t had a proper meal because the last one quite literally tried to run away. At this point he just wants to grab as many leftovers as he can from the kitchen and hole up in his room, where he can pretend Kanda isn’t just down the hall.

Lenalee picks up her suitcase and makes her way past Allen. “Y’know, you two still bickered a lot before, but we could all tell you were getting along better. Like...a lot better.” She pauses before the curtain. “I know you guys think we didn’t notice what was going on, but we did. And...we all miss that.”

Allen bites his lip. He continues to stare down at the claw marks he’s left.

He doesn’t want to admit that he does, too.

“I’m sorry,” she says, softly. “I didn’t mean to meddle. It’s just...you’re both so dear to me.” A pause. “And I really do think he’ll be a big help here.”

Allen offers a non-committal grunt in response.

Lenalee’s expression only saddens before she starts up the stairs. “Goodnight, Allen.”

Lavi waits a beat before following after her. He offers his own quiet, “Night, man,” before he disappears as well.

Allen stays downstairs a short while after they’ve left. Everything about tonight has felt surreal. He can’t even  _ fathom _ a worse way for it to come to an end. He raps his claws against the counter once, twice, then pulls away to put out the candles.

Maybe tomorrow will be a busier day. Maybe he’ll be able to keep his mind off of Kanda, even though they’ll be in the same building.

But for now, the sound of rain only makes his unwanted memories all the more vivid.

**Author's Note:**

> I've always had a weakness for anime that use the "shop/service with a supernatural side business" sorta concept. I recently reread Yumekui Kenbun / Nightmare Inspector (brownie points if you're familiar with that manga), and initially this was just going to straight up be a Nightmare Inspector AU. Then I started thinking I kinda wanted to parallel the exorcist and akuma stuff in canon somehow...and I also had a bunch of doodles for a dragon AU from last year, so we kinda wound up with...this...instead. I think I like this outcome better than any of the individual ideas in the end!
> 
> If you wanna check out some of those doodles or see WIPs between updates and stuff, I've got a [tumblr tag](https://kagapop.tumblr.com/tagged/fim) for it all! Feel free to shoot me an ask if ya want, too!
> 
> Also shout out to my amazing friend Alex who proofread this for me!!


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